Home schooling rises: Fort Bliss families follow US trend

This growing trend comes from necessity. Parents who care know that the public schools have become stagnated pools of instructional incompetence and lack of student discipline. Students who want to learn have little chance in a public school where "English" may be taught by someone with a heavy Spanish accent, unacquainted with the idiom of our mother tongue; where administrators do not know the difference. As home schooling increases, savings of billions will be a serendipitous result.

Public schools stink across America - that is the reason behind the increase in home schoolers.

I am so happy to hear that there are others in this community that are willing to the job of teaching their children rather than let a corrupt, ineffective, and over expensive system do it for them.
I wish they could get back or credit them for the cost of education. This would save the taxpayers so much and place the responsibility of education back on the shoulders of the individual instead of a paid teacher following a scripted lesson plan.

Sure beats the junk the NEA wants to cram down everyone's throats.

The school systems hates this for every kid who leaves their $$ leave with them.

Donna Madre wrote:

I am so happy to hear that there are others in this community that are willing to the job of teaching their children rather than let a corrupt, ineffective, and over expensive system do it for them.
I wish they could get back or credit them for the cost of education. This would save the taxpayers so much and place the responsibility of education back on the shoulders of the individual instead of a paid teacher following a scripted lesson plan.

90% of home schooling is done for fundamentalist christian indoctrination. If that's what those parents want, I guess it's their decision, but keep it out of the national debate over improvements in public education.

Maybe she wins the bee because the kid does nothing but prepare for it for weeks ahead of time? Maybe the other students are getting a balanced education looking at all subject areas?

Bee wrote:

Maybe she wins the bee because the kid does nothing but prepare for it for weeks ahead of time? Maybe the other students are getting a balanced education looking at all subject areas?

How different is that from the teachers and administrators who put EVERYTHING aside prior to taking the TAKS test? Your comment is stupid.

I am a grandmother and I believe this is a wise choice for young mothers. May God bless you all who have made this decision.

I think it's great that these mothers want to home school their children. However, how do we know if all these mothers are qualified, intelligence wise, to home school?

I agree with Nut Patrol that many times home schooling is done for fundamentalist Christian indoctrination.

I also agree with Bee that maybe this child wins the spelling bee because she does nothing but prepare for it for weeks while other students are getting a balanced education in all subjects.

A teacher wrote:

I think it's great that these mothers want to home school their children. However, how do we know if all these mothers are qualified, intelligence wise, to home school?
I agree with Nut Patrol that many times home schooling is done for fundamentalist Christian indoctrination.
I also agree with Bee that maybe this child wins the spelling bee because she does nothing but prepare for it for weeks while other students are getting a balanced education in all subjects.

Have you met some of the teachers around here lately? Some may be fine, even great but many are incompetent.

Nut Patrol wrote:

<quoted text>90% of home schooling is done for fundamentalist christian indoctrination. If that's what those parents want, I guess it's their decision, but keep it out of the national debate over improvements in public education.

We are not religious but see a problem with EPISD's program. We looked ahead via the internet and felt that the district and schools pose too great a risk to place our children.
We have the option of saying,"No, thank you!", to a poor system. Sad to say most of the people in El Paso can not.

Joe wrote:

<quoted text> Have you met some of the teachers around here lately? Some may be fine, even great but many are incompetent.

Many new teachers are just young tramps with college degrees who dont care about teaching or the kids.

A teacher wrote:

I think it's great that these mothers want to home school their children. However, how do we know if all these mothers are qualified, intelligence wise, to home school?
I agree with Nut Patrol that many times home schooling is done for fundamentalist Christian indoctrination.
I also agree with Bee that maybe this child wins the spelling bee because she does nothing but prepare for it for weeks while other students are getting a balanced education in all subjects.

Again, a certificate or degree does not guarentee that a person can teach effectively! I have read and heard how the admistrators are clamoring to leave the state in search of employees because the local university gives degrees to people who are not smart enough to use a pen or read enough to fill out a job application.
Unless you live on another planet or another state, you will notice that Schools are forcing students to TAKS saturday school and TAKS tutoring after school to add to their 8 hour 5 day week TAKS practice in every class. How is this possible when the schools say they are broke?

I have thought about home schooling but I worry what the impact of my children's social life would be. There have been drug dealers offering children drugs on the streets 1 block from an elementary school. I think their safety is more important than being social. Where does a parent go to learn more about home schooling?

Kapusta Kate wrote:

<quoted text>
We are not religious but see a problem with EPISD's program. We looked ahead via the internet and felt that the district and schools pose too great a risk to place our children.
We have the option of saying,"No, thank you!", to a poor system. Sad to say most of the people in El Paso can not.

My experience has been that El Paso area schools are "below average" on a national level. But home schooled kids will never touch the education they would have received in the "Gifted-Talented", IB, and AP courses in the public schools. Plus, you're denying them the socialization exposure they'll need to be well adjusted adults. We'd be hard pressed to think of anyone with outstanding leadership skills that came out of a home school environment - stated bluntly, the kids turn out to be weirdos.

As a teacher I do understand why some parents may decide to take the route of homeschooling. Additionally, I have seen the consequences for students who have been homeschool improperly. There has to be a happy medium. It would not be necessary for military families to add the stress of educating thier own students if the states did not all have different standards. If nationally we were all on the same page then students could move anywhere and be on the same page. Now if I get a student from Georgia they are years behind but if they come from other parts of the country they are ahead. There are some bad apples in our profession, but most give blood, sweat, tears, and their own money to provide possitive learning experiences for all students. More parent support would help, on average out of 200 students only 30 parents show up for parent conferences and return calls when teachers call.

Nut Patrol wrote:

<quoted text>My experience has been that El Paso area schools are "below average" on a national level. But home schooled kids will never touch the education they would have received in the "Gifted-Talented", IB, and AP courses in the public schools. Plus, you're denying them the socialization exposure they'll need to be well adjusted adults. We'd be hard pressed to think of anyone with outstanding leadership skills that came out of a home school environment - stated bluntly, the kids turn out to be weirdos.

I know some home schooled adults...they seem to be afraid of the real world. They socialize ONLY with their churches and refuse to associate with anyone who didnt grow up the same way they did. Thats the parent's doing. If I could, I'd home school my kids to keep them away from dope pushers and gang members that el paso schools are FULL of, but I'd get them involved in out of school activities that could give them the socialization they need. Not all kids turn out to be weirdos...In fact, I think there are more weirdos in public schools than being home schooled.

Nut Patrol wrote:

<quoted text>90% of home schooling is done for fundamentalist christian indoctrination. If that's what those parents want, I guess it's their decision, but keep it out of the national debate over improvements in public education.

You sound like a left wing nut job to me. You should thank the public schools for that. Moron!

good job wrote:

<quoted text>
I know some home schooled adults...they seem to be afraid of the real world. They socialize ONLY with their churches and refuse to associate with anyone who didnt grow up the same way they did. Thats the parent's doing. If I could, I'd home school my kids to keep them away from dope pushers and gang members that el paso schools are FULL of, but I'd get them involved in out of school activities that could give them the socialization they need. Not all kids turn out to be weirdos...In fact, I think there are more weirdos in public schools than being home schooled.

Of course there are more weirdos coming out of public schools in ABSOLUTE numbers, but on a percentage basis the home-schooled are way ahead in this category.

You're right about the the drugs and gangs in public schools that make parents cringe. Extreme situations notwithstanding, the kids do have to learn to deal with these realities in our society. I don't have the solution, but I do know that sheltering the children is a recipe for raising a "weirdo".

The Wall wrote:

<quoted text>
You sound like a left wing nut job to me. You should thank the public schools for that. Moron!

"The Wall" response is a perfect example of what home schooling will produce when the children become adults.